Console Corner: Burnout Paradise Remastered

If like me you spent a lot of time in the noughties (worst decade name ever) enjoying the unforgettable arcade openworld racing thrills of Burnout Paradise with your friends then your prayers have been answered.

That beautiful, iconic game has been given the remastered treatment by Criterion and EA and I am happy to report it is better than ever.

The remaster contains all the previously released downloadable content, except for the Time Savers Pack - a DLC pack that unlocks all vehicles in the game without the need to progress through single-player - and support for up to 4k with 60 frames per second support too.

That coupled with the looks, gameplay and freedom Paradise City so memorably gave us and what’s not to love?

I had to remind myself that this game was 10 years old as I sped around the streets for the first time in the remastered version and the fact it still more than holds its own in all the important aspects speaks volumes for just how brilliant Burnout Paradise was/is.

Obviously graphics have come a long way in that time and so things do look a touch dated in that respect but by no means does it stand out.

As I mentioned recently in my column, quality arcade racers are a rarity nowadays hence the clamour to bring back classics like this.

But Burnout’s beauty has always been and still very much is in its speed. Sometimes we don’t want realism in our video games, we want to be taken out of reality and to have a blast and Burnout achieves that every time.

Like the name of a well known, milked-dry movie franchise it is fast and furious and its crowning glory will always be the sheer sense of speed achieved as you burn through the streets.

It’s frantic, frenetic but most importantly FUN and that’s why the remaster will endure as much as the original. They don’t make them like this anymore but thankfully they do re-make them!